Q: What's that beautiful sight? A: It's glass after glass of all the free beer you'll be drinking this weekend at the Capital Ale House National Beer Expo. Read on for your tickets and the latest news in restaurants, events, celebrity chefs and more:
- How do you feel about beer? How do you feel about free beer? The Capital Ale House National Beer Expo kicks off today in tribute to America's best craft beers and breweries, with parties, brunches, seminars and samples galore. How could this deal get sweeter? We've got a pair of free VIP tickets to Saturday's Walk-Around Grand Tasting event at the Greater Richmond Convention Center, which means you and someone you love (or just seriously want to impress - no judgement here) get unlimited access to over 170 craft beers, plus early admission to beat the lines. What? YES! Just shoot me an email at stephanieb@richmag.com with the subject line "Cheers for Beers" and your contact information in the email. Winner will be chosen at random and notified tomorrow morning, July 17. May the odds be ever in your favor.
- On to the news: Brookland Park is getting a jolt of farm-to-mouth thanks to Anthony Tucker, owner of the new Nomad Deli and Catering Co., and Renew Richmond. The new deli opened May 1, but now it looks as though Tucker will also launch a farmers market next door at 207 W. Brookland Park Blvd. The Brookland Park Farmers Market starts this Saturday, July 18, where you can get a veggie box for $20. That's $20 for 20 pounds of vegetables, which "include but are not limited to salad greens, peppers, tomatoes, carrots and onions," according to Renew Richmond's Duron Chavis, via Brookland Park Post. (Richmond BizSense)
- Starting next week in Carver, you can get your midday meal from The Magpie, which starts lunch service on Tuesday, July 21. Expect chef Owen Lane's trademark kitchen meat magic with dishes like rabbit tacos and Manchego sausage, along with burgers, salads and more, all for $5 to $16 Tuesdays to Fridays from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. So I guess we all know where we're going for lunch next Tuesday, yeah? (Richmond.com/Richmond Times Dispatch)
- If you're looking for the best gluten-free fried foods, you have arrived at your destination: The latest installment of our "Pizza Tried to Kill Me" column rounds up the city's best GF fried chicken, wheat-less calamari and more. Go forth, sans gluten. (Richmond magazine)
- What's that? You can eat gluten and you're just really not into cooking at the moment? I hear ya. Fortunately, we have a new list of some of the city's best grab-and-go food finds, be they gourmet ice cream sandwiches or soft-shell crabs. (Richmond magazine)
- Speaking of gluten, in #BiscuitWatch news, Carytown Burgers & Fries teamed up with Early Bird Biscuit Co. to bring us weekly chicken biscuits every Tuesday at 11 a.m. in the Carytown Burgers & Fries Lakeside location. #Blessed #SoBlessed (Carytown Burgers & Fries)
- Where can you find "crowlers" — large aluminum cans of craft beer — for your drinking pleasure? A handful of our local breweries now offer house-canned beer, keeping your brew fresher, longer, until you decide to crack it open and enjoy it. Here's a solid roundup on what's getting canned and where, plus a few seasonal suggestions from brewers. (RVANews)
- HEAR YE, HEAR YE: You can help children with cancer this weekend by setting up a lemonade stand at no cost to you. Visit Anthem LemonAid to sign up for a stand this weekend; they'll bring the supplies, you'll sell the goods and help raise money for children. When life gives you lemons, do something great with them.
- Looking ahead to October, tickets for the city's food symposium — Fire, Flour & Fork — went on sale yesterday morning. Are you in the mood for a dinner prepared by James Beard Award-nominated chefs? What about some of RVA's finest at the return of the Beaux Arts Ball in The Jefferson Hotel on Halloween? Maybe you'd like to ferry across the James to learn about pimento cheese? Check out the full schedule here and grab your tickets. (Worth noting: New this year is a wait list, so when seats for a sold-out event become available, you'll be notified.) I, for one, welcome our new Halloween event overlords. (news release)
Ready for the best upcoming food events? They're ready for you:
- As above, so below, here's a friendly reminder that Capital Ale House's National Beer Expo is happening N-O-W through Saturday evening, and we're giving away free tickets to Saturday's Walk-Around Grand Tasting event. (Seriously, free beer. What are you waiting for?) Again, find the full schedule here!
- Grab some napkins and bring your appetite, because ZZQ returns to Ardent Craft Ales tomorrow (Friday) as part of its summer pop-up series. There will be brisket, bone-in pork belly and sides, but grab a spot in line right at 5 p.m. because this good stuff goes fast. (Richmond magazine)
- Sabai is throwing its grand opening party on Saturday from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m., so if you haven't gotten a chance to swing by West Broad Street's new Thai-food destination, here's your excuse. Not sure what to expect? Check out our full restaurant profile right over here and prepare for all of the extra-boozy, so-fruity cocktails you'll be enjoying this weekend. (Sabai)
- Sunday, you can pretend you're in France when you're actually just on Boulevard (convenient and no extra baggage fees!) at One Night in Paris, a dinner brought to you by Amour Wine Bistro and Nacho Mama's. Enjoy classic French fare in five-course, family-style form for $35; call (804) 491-3333 for reservations. (Amour Wine Bistro)
- And on Monday, celebrate Belgian independence with Xavier Meers from Brux’l Café serving up Belgian cuisine at Cask Café. Expect an à la carte menu with dishes ranging from $5 to $10 (mussels Provençal, anyone?) and Belgian beer, to boot. There will also be Marcel, a giant inflatable gnome. (Don't ask, just accept it.) Looking for more pop-up events? We're on it. (Richmond magazine)
- Don't miss sampling the wares from upcoming restaurant Belle & James, available next week at its pop-up hosted by Blue Goat on Tuesday, July 21. The à la carte menu offers, among other dishes, a slice of pork belly that's been wrapped in pineapple and served with yucca fries, sautéed swiss chard and harissa, plus specialty cocktails from Bobby Kruger of Belle & James. (Richmond magazine)
- Next week, you have not one but two opportunities to enjoy a special prix fixe menu from "Top Chef's" Bryan Voltaggio in celebration of HOME, the chef's beautiful new cookbook. Enjoy four courses at his new Richmond Family Meal outpost, and a chance to chat with the chef himself on Tuesday (July 21) and Wednesday (July 22) as you feast your way through chicken pot pie fritters, pimento cheese hush puppies, meatloaf with spinach and mushroom gravy, caramel corn sundae, goat cheese cheesecake and more. Tickets for the dinner only are set at $50, but the $75 option gets you dinner and a signed copy of the new book. Call (804) 447-1879 to make your reservations. (news release)
- Further on down the road, specifically Thursday, July 23, you can twist the night away at a wine dance party that's all Riesling, all the time. (Note: This party is not, in fact, "all the time," and is only from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m., so when they eventually kick you out of Secco Wine Bar, don't come running to me.) Enjoy passed appetizers from Barrel Thief and Secco — we're talking char siu spring rolls with lemongrass, goat cheese truffles with bergamot, fingerling potato cups with smoked trout, etc. — and five paired Rieslings, plus a DJ. Get yer $50 Riesling Rumspringa tickets here. (news release)
In this week's (inter)national links:
- As strange as it sounds, a new study found that bringing your own reusable bag for food shopping often results in the buying of more junk food. The study additionally found a B.Y.O.Bag routine increases your odds of buying organic, so if it's an organic chocolate bar, how bad can it really be? (Humor me here, people.) (The Atlantic)
- We won't have to travel to animated Springfield's Moe's Tavern to get our hands on Duff Beer, though some flights to Chile, South America, Europe (or the IRL Moe's locations in Florida and California) may be in our future: "The Simpsons" is launching a very real Duff brew by early 2016, but American markets will only find it in Universal Studios theme parks, at least at first. (The Wall Street Journal)
- Now introducing Dulse, the new seaweed superfood that tastes like bacon. You're welcome. (First We Feast)
'Til next time, we'll be eating seaweed and eggs for breakfast.
